Before you give up hope, it’s worth noting that Nintendo and Rare did contemplate other Donkey Kong projects. The closest thing to a "lost" SNES DKC is:
In short: No amount of digging will uncover an official Donkey Kong Country 4 SNES ROM because it was never coded, compiled, or tested. donkey kong country 4 snes rom
Because the DKC series is called Super Donkey Kong in Japan, some hoaxers created a ROM hack of Super Mario World where Mario is replaced by a poorly ripped Donkey Kong sprite. The file is often named “SDK4.SMC.” Downloading this is a rite of passage for disappointed retro enthusiasts. Before you give up hope, it’s worth noting
If you search for “Donkey Kong Country 4 SNES ROM,” you’re stepping into a fascinating gray area of video game history. The short, definitive answer is: No official Donkey Kong Country 4 was ever developed or released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). In short: No amount of digging will uncover
The original trilogy—Donkey Kong Country (1994), Diddy’s Kong Quest (1995), and Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! (1996)—was the complete arc. Rareware moved on to develop Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64, and the next traditional side-scrolling sequel, Donkey Kong Country Returns, didn’t arrive until 2010 on the Wii.
So why does the persistent idea of a “DKC4 SNES ROM” exist? The answer lies in the passionate homebrew and ROM hacking community.